Wireless communication systems are becoming increasingly popular, demanding increasing numbers of channels to carry the communication traffic. Some modem wireless massaging systems have utilized system configuration information (SCI) frames on one or more control channels to identify the totality of control channels, non-control channels (data-only channels), and corresponding frequencies used by the channels throughout a subzone. In a FLEX.RTM. two-way messaging system, for example, a subzone is the smallest area in the messaging system in which control information is simulcast. An invariant group of control channels and data channels are used throughout the subzone.
With the growth of wireless messaging, some systems are starting to need more channels per subzone than was anticipated a few years ago when the communication protocols were designed. The SCI frames of the FLEX.RTM. two-way messaging protocol, for example, can identify up to eight channels. Some service providers now anticipate a requirement for more than eight channels per subzone.
Thus, what is needed is a method and apparatus for enabling an identification of more than the maximum number of channel frequencies per subzone possible in prior art systems. Preferably, the method and apparatus will be backward compatible without requiring any changes in subscriber units already operating in the wireless communication systems.